


Feathers and Ink

by DigitalPopsicle



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Pre-Canon, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 04:17:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17594468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalPopsicle/pseuds/DigitalPopsicle
Summary: [Written for the Honor and Duty Gladio Fanzine]The Amicitias have always had a tattoo when they were ready to become a Shield. Gladio reflects on his.





	Feathers and Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Honor and Duty Gladio Fanzine  
> https://twitter.com/HonorNDutyZine
> 
> Gladio's tattoo always fascinated me so I had to write something about it :P

‘ _ A shield is not just a tool of battle. You won’t know the answer yet, but you must find what being a Shield means to you. It is different for all who take up the mantle, and what a King requires of their shield is just as varied. What King Regis needs of me will be different to what Prince Noctis needs of you. And what you can offer him will be different from what I can offer _ .’

The words his father told him rang in his head as he waited in the reception area of the studio, nervously flicking the edges of the book he was trying to read—though Gladio had to admit he'd scanned the same two pages over ten times and none of the words had sunk in.

Getting a tattoo was a normal thing to be nervous about, but when it was the most important tattoo an Amicitia could get, the situation became downright terrifying. Added to that was the fact that the tradition came with an alternative method of inking it, forgoing the machine for sticks of sharp bamboo, which not only apparently hurt more, but took far longer as well.

Taking a shaky breath, Gladio finally closed the book in his hand, accepting that he wouldn't get any proper reading done, and simply sat back to await the artist to call him in.

The name of Amicitia, the role of a Shield, and the tradition of tattoos had been around since the Lucii sat on the throne, as far as anyone knew. History books didn’t exactly go into the intimate details of the family, instead the stories being passed down by word of mouth, but even his father didn't know why the family had started the tradition. Clarus had theorised it was a subtle proof of strength for the young Shield, and with the process taking a long time it was a chance to almost meditate and think upon the roles and duties they would take up in their service to the throne. More often than not, the tattoo was also of a bird, with the wings symbolising soaring high, sheltering those in need, and hunting down prey when the time called for it.

Birds were swift and cunning, keeping a watchful eye on the world, but able to narrow down their focus onto one thing if they needed to. Shields were so focused on the defense of the King that it seemed the symbol of a bird was invoked to cover the ‘weaker’ areas of hunting and offense. It was part of the process that the young Shield would have to come up with his own reasoning behind the tattoo and behind the symbolism of the bird he chose, and what being a Shield meant to him.

Gladio didn’t remember his grandmother too well, the one who had been the previous Shield serving King Mors, prior to Regis’ reign, but he remembered she had a golden falcon that spread one wing down her right arm, the rest on her back spreading across her shoulders. It was featured very prominently on her in an old photograph in his father’s study.

Clarus' tattoo was a hawk, wings spread across the span of his shoulder blades and back, with the head resting on the back of his neck, peering over its shoulder. When he was younger, Clarus would joke he had eyes in the back of his head and thus could always see when a young Gladio got into trouble. He did have a penchant for knowing exactly what he was up to, but Gladio just reasoned that he wasn't very good at being sneaky and hiding his mischief.

Not that his father had told him exactly what his own tattoo meant, but Gladio had looked up the symbolism of a hawk in preparation for his own. Hawks apparently  signalled a time in your life when you needed to focus on what was ahead and prepare for a leadership role, which made sense in a way. It symbolized preparation for his role as a Shield, and preparation for anything that was thrown at him and the King, amongst many, many,  _ many  _ more things that a Shield had to be ready for.

Gladio sighed and ran his hand through his hair. The sides were closely shaved. The longer section was becoming shaggy as it grew out from the short, cropped style he used to wear, resembling a style that the Glaives were fond of.

What did being a Shield mean to him?

His hand trailed from his hair, down the new scar across his eye, scratching the end of it idly. The wound had healed several months ago, but there was still an itch to it as the skin on his face got used to the new tightness of scar tissue. It was stupid really, taking a knife to the face when he could've so easily fought back, but attacking a drunkard just for picking a fight with the wrong person didn't seem worth it. Besides, if he hadn’t intervened, the scandal would've been all over the news: 'Prince Noctis in alleyway brawl with poor citizen', or something of the sort.

But it made him think. 

Instinct had made him jump in front of the Prince and shield him from the attack. Instinct had made him wary of such dangers in the first place. And instinct had made him push the man away instead of retaliating and making things worse. The man, taking one look at the pair and realising what he'd done and who he'd done it too, had scarpered soon after.

Courage, strength, and perception were what an eagle symbolised. Combined with honesty, which Noctis often told him he was far too blunt with, it seemed perfect when he'd researched them for his tattoo.

Each Amicitia had a different way of conveying their chosen design. Clarus' looked over his shoulder to keep an eye behind him, but Gladio wasn't the sort to constantly look behind. His back would take the brunt of whatever was coming, regardless of  whether or not he expected it, so he could always look forward and keep a lookout on what was ahead.

So the eagle's wings would spread across his back like the symbolic shield, and the wings needed to soar. But the wings were to also spread down his arms to express strength. Then, he would have the head curling over his shoulder, looking forward with him.

He'd worked long and hard with the artist over the design, which was why it had taken so long to come up with something Gladio was happy with; it wasn't only going to be on his body for the rest of his life, but it was the ultimate symbol of his heritage and duty. It had to be perfect.

“Gladiolus? Ready?” A head peered through the doorway nearby, a smiling woman looking over at him and gesturing for him to come through.

“Ready as I'll ever be.” Gladio smiled in return, forcing back nerves and following her inside.

The tattoo was an oath: whatever the world threw at them, he would be the Shield protecting his King from all that would come.


End file.
